


The Music Of The Knife

by Poemsingreenink



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cats, Humor, M/M, Mag7Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 17:39:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12173616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poemsingreenink/pseuds/Poemsingreenink
Summary: Sam visits Goodnight and Billy at their new apartment.





	The Music Of The Knife

**Author's Note:**

> For the Mag7Week prompt "together"

"What the hell is that?"

Sam's coat was still resting on his shoulders. His feet were still inside his shoes, and his umbrella was still dripping all over the entryway of Billy and Goodnight's new apartment. They'd already laid three mismatching welcome mats over the carpet to ensure the return of their deposit someday, and so he didn't bother apologizing for the mess.

"That's Dolores," Goodnight said from the living room. "You've met Dolores. Say hello to our guest Dolo!"

Billy's huge, fluffy cat chipped happily from her spot on the living room floor, and waved her paws in Sam's direction. Possibly the friendliest cat Sam had ever met, she got to her feet and trotted over to have Sam scratch her ears. Dolores got close enough to see Sam's dripping umbrella, and then decided her attention would be better used to lap up the small rivers of water that were running across the welcome mats.

"Don't drink that!" Sam said, and tried to flick the remaining water from the umbrella at her.

Dolores tilted her head curiously at the suddenly shower, and then went back to investigating.

Experimentally, Sam gently shook his entire umbrella over Dolores. The rainstorm it caused had no effect on her cheerful mood. 

"Okay," Sam muttered. "Fine."

He stuck his dripping arm out, and pointed at the far wall. "Those, Goody. Those."

Emma's donated blue couch was pushed against the far wall, and Goodnight was perched on the armrest happily working on a crossword puzzle. Hanging above his head was a collection of fifteen identical steak knives.

Goodnight grinned. Abandoning the puzzle he jumped to his feet.

"Ain't they beautiful? We didn't have enough space at the old place to put them up. Billy kept them in a trunk under the bed, but now we have this whole stretch of wall for them to glitter across."

Sam peered at the wall. His glasses were in his coat pocket, and not for the first time that day he considered saving for the LASEK surgery his sister was always pushing him toward.

"Your new neighbors are going to think you're serial killers."

Goodnight looked baffled. "Why would they think that?"

Sam didn't answer, he was too busy kicking off his boots, and wrestling with his rain coat. His wet things needed to come off. He was starting to get a chill.

"They're our anniversary knives," Goodnight explained. "I, personally, find them rather romantic."

Sam's elevator ride had been shared with a baby-faced twenty something, a tired looking woman with a child on her hip, and three teenage boys all in need of a shower. He doubted any of those people would be using the word "romantic" if they caught sight of Goodnight's wall décor. 

"How about you explain it to me, and I will judge whether I'm looking at romance or madness,"Sam said.

Dolores balanced her front paws atop Sam's abandoned boot, and then shoved her whole head into the darkness. Sam ignored the cat, and crossed the room to get a closer look.

"I stole the steak-knife off the table during me and Billy's first date," Goodnight said. "We went to Chili's."

"Why would you do that?"

"So I could order the fried mac and cheese bites," Goodnight said. "Their desserts aren't quite to my taste, but the fried mac and cheese bites never disappoint. It was a blind date and I figured if the company turned out to be a bust then at least I would have gotten fried food out of the deal."

Sam closed his eyes, and wondered if Goodnight was playing with him. It was hard to tell sometimes.

"The knife, Goodnight. You know I'm talking about the knife."

Goodnight opened his mouth, and the faltered.

"Come to think of it I can't recall. Hey Billy! Why did I steal that steak-knife on our first date?"

Billy appeared from the back bedroom with his shirt only half way on, and his hair loose around his shoulders. He pulled his head through, and then he carefully smoothed a hand over his stomach where the _Westworld_ logo was stamped.

"Don't know. You never explained."

"I was probably just stunned by your charm, wit and handsome face, _cher_ ," Goodnight said. "I might have walked off with the whole set of silverware, and never noticed I was so distracted by you."

Billy beamed, and then went to help Dolores who'd gotten stuck in Sam's boot. "I just thought you liked knives."

Sam seriously considered putting his coat back on and leaving.Outside the wind rattled against the building, and the wind started to pick up. It was a slight deterrent to his plan.

"You went on a second date with a guy you though 'just liked knives'"

Billy pulled Dolores out of the boot, and set her back on the ground where she immediately tried to plaster herself to Billy's legs as she shook her head and sneezed several times. Sam felt a little insulted. 

"Yes."

"I gave him the first one for our first anniversary," Goodnight said.

"And last year I engraved them all," Billy added. "The library has a machine you can use."

"They have a 3D printer tool!" Goodnight said. He waved his arm toward his windowsill where three plastic Bulbasaur planters all cradling dying plants were set up. "The library has certainly expanded its uses since we were children."

Sam made a mental note to steal all of those plants before he left. Ignoring Goodnight, he peered at the closest knife. There was a line of music notes etched delicately across the blade. Sam hummed it softly under his breath.

" _Pour Some Sugar On Me_?"

Billy's harsh bark of a laugh would have made a weaker man jump. Goodnight giggled. Sam resolutely did not ask. 

"Are they all engraved?" Sam asked, eyes moving from one identical knife to the next.

"Sure," Goodnight said.

"Do you steal them all from Chili's?"

"Sam, I stole them all from the _same_ Chili's," Goodnight said proudly, slapping Sam on the back. "The manager started catching on sometime around year four, and now they sound the alarm whenever they see us coming, but I out fox them every year!"

Sam glanced at the window to see a streak of lightening flicker through the trees followed by a thunderous boom that shook the building. He was stuck here for the foreseeable future.

"Does a waiter also mysteriously disappear from that same restaurant ever year?" Sam muttered.

"Don't be judgmental," Goodnight said. "They are a reminder of our commitment to one another. What do you want us to hang on the living room wall, Sam? Pictures of our _families._ Fat chance I'm letting those idiots into our home. Picture or otherwise."

"If someone breaks in they have access to fifteen murder weapons," Sam argued.

"We keep Goody's gun collection in the bedroom," Billy said. "Let them bring a knife to a gun fight. That never ends well."

Sam stared blankly at Billy, and then decided this was not the time to point out that Billy was exactly the kind of guy who would _insist_ on bringing a knife to a gun fight.

The doorbell rang, and Dolores abandoned Billy's legs for the door where new people who hadn't been given the chance to pet her might appear. 

"I'll get it," Billy said, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. "That's either the pizza or Red."

"Do you want to see the rest of the place?" Goodnight asked. "Grand tour and all of that?"

"Depends," Sam said. "Is there a room full severed fingers and toes that I have to see?"

Goodnight snorted. "Of course not. We keep all extra body parts in the fridge. We do have some class, Sam."

Behind them, Sam heard the door bang shut, and the sound of another pair of wet boots squeaked across the strategically placed welcome mats.

"Oh cool! Sweet knife collection, Billy." 

Sam rolled his eyes, and followed Goody deeper in the apartment.

**Author's Note:**

> -I will not apologize for this title.
> 
> -Chili's is an American chain restaurant where you will probably get taken on a first date. I don't know how much they'd care if you stole a steak knife a year, but I don't recommend it.
> 
> -This fic is inspired by the roommate I had who once stole mugs from another popular chain restaurant for reasons that were never explained, but I imagine were much less sweet than Goody's.
> 
> -All library related things described here are actual things you can do at some libraries now. Go to your god damn library.
> 
> -At some point I imagine that Billy hangs a framed picture of Dolores up alongside the knives, and Sam is just like "No, this is not making it better."


End file.
